Belgian

Poured into: Dogfish Head craft goblet with enough vigor to produce a head, but as not to disturb the yeast from the bottom of the bottle.

Sight: A deeply gingerbread body fills the glass with a quick-forming khaki head. As dark as it is, there’s nice evidence of carbonation, tiny, delicate bubbles well up from the base. A few seconds later, the head dissipates to a tightly hugging ring and a storm-front mass of suds on top. Further insepction reveals a lovely reddish hue to the body. No lacing, but hey, it’s a 10.5% abv drink. Taking a look at the bottle, one can observe a ring of yeast sediment on the bottom.

Taste: Much of the aroma follows through to the palate. Malt and sugar sweetness, on the fuller side of the style. Pleasant warmth from alcohol which keeps it from becoming too sweet. The plum note manifests as part of a “fruitcake” sort of fruitiness, along with the yeast.

Mouthfeel: Highly carbonated, with very fine bubbles, not sharp and biting. Finish is moderately dry with a slight bitterness, bringing another means of balance. Medium-full body.

Overall: More abbey-style than Trappist, a nice New-World interpretation. This is not your father’s Chimay. A great way to celebrate four years… at least that’s what I herd.

S: A luxurious raisin-brown body sits beneath a beige head that builds, then dies. Some soapish suds hang around, plus a round bubble-peninsula formed on one side of the goblet. Lacing left is thin and very delicate.

A: A date-lover’s dream. Rich aroma of dark fruit, fig, dates. Plums. Subtle spicy phenols, and tell-tale fruity yeast esters (plus a small hint of bubblegum). A bouquet fit for a king (or an emperor). The hops here are quite muted at the outset. The alcohol too, is well integrated into the beer, as I can’t detect from sniffing this beauty that it’s 11% abv.

T: Oh. My. God. Dark notes of molasses, Belgian candi-sugar, bittersweet chocolate. Fruit overtures of… is that raspberry? A slightly tart and medicinal cherry. Plums. Dates and figs bow to the tongue. This guy also contains port notes (not to be confused with Portnoy- an emperor in his own right). Hey, don’t forget the light impression of leather and tobacco– that one takes a bit to show up, but it’s there. Call me a joker, but I also get a little bit of soy sauce and yeah, I’ll go there- umami. Just a hint of bitterness and astringency, but in a pleasant way.

F: I don’t say this often about mouthfeel, but this beer has it all. It possesses great carbonation, especially on the roof of the mouth. Slick and regal, and at the same time, made deceptively light due to the aforementioned carbonation. It’s got a long finish, and this is where the alcohol is most present. Give it a few seconds. A rampant lion, that booze.

O: This Belgian Strong Dark is more than capable of expanding his empire into your mouth and subjugating your senses. However, this is more of a friendly annexation, not a hostile-takeover. Though I’m not truly an expert (in my head I am), I’d say it’s fair to theorize that an older bottle might have more port, and a younger bottle feels a bit hotter in the alcohol department. 4 years? Perfect. Though this is not Chimay Grand Reserve, this is truly a regal libation. I could drink this for days, but it would pull me under.

Happy 2016, subscribers, viewers, and newcomers. I feel it only fitting that one of the first things I do this year is post a beer review. The following was my experience with my much-heralded NYE beer, DeuS. Enjoy, and try not to snort beer from your nose while reading, it gets a little out-there…

S: Holy bubbly, Batman! I have never, in my short beer-drinking life, seen so much effervescence. Bubbles, falling in reverse, constantly erupt from the bottom of my pilsner glass. A stark white, highly porous head builds then recedes. Its body is a very pale straw, golden, and remarkably clear.

A: Apple, pear, a bit of barnyard, bright fruity esters… mint? Yeah, I think there’s a mint note. Halfway through enjoying the bottle, and periodically inhaling the aroma of the newly poured head, my nose did a double-take. What is that I’m getting? I turned to my wife and asked her to smell the beer, thinking I was crazy. After she sniffed, I said, “It smells like a wet dog rolled in mint leaves and Aqua Velva.” That observation got me the weirdest look in a long time. But, though that was imaginative, and descriptive, it wasn’t quite accurate. I continued to smell. Then it hit me (almost literally). What some people call “pineapple,” but my sense memory labeled as “cat box.” The realization almost put me off my beer. Whether from the yeast strain, the hop bill, or some other chemical process, I had never smelled anything quite like that in a beer.

T: The pleasant parts of the nose follow through to the taste: a medley of pear, apple, clove spice, citrus, and yes, mint again. I don’t detect bitterness. Instead, there’s a delicate tartness. Added in is a sweet note in the beginning, but by the time you swallow, it’s quite dry.

F: Light, creamy, and fluffy all at the same time. Extremely tingly. There’s a subtle whisper of booze on the finish, and grows more evident as the beer warms. 11.5%. Yikes!

O: I love to use the phrase “no words, just feelings” when describing incredible experiences. However, this is a beer review, so words are not just required, but inadequate. I’ve nothing to compare this beer to… if Saison Dupont, Chimay Cinq Cents, and Duvel got together in a room and starting drinking Dom, that just about scratches the surface of this intensely drinkable AND dangerous deity of a brew. And, when have I ever added this to a review- there is a very noticeable auditory element to this beer… it’s like the Belgian brewers put an Alka-Seltzer tablet in with the second dose of yeast.

S: 4.5 A: 3.75 T: 4.25 F: 4.5 O: 4.0

Suggested food pairing: poach salmon, citrusy salads, on its own as an aperitif, fruit salad

This is a special post, as it’s not often I associate a specific beer with a specific holiday. For many, ringing in the new year will be filled with toasts, and downing delicate, bubbly, pale wine from demure flutes. Those of you who feel bound by tradition, but very much want to toast 2016 with beer, worry no more– I have your answer. I give you, Bière de Champagne:

The above beauty is brewed by Brouwerij (Brewery) Bosteels of Buggenhout, Belgium. Touting 200 years of history, and multi-generational ownership, this brewery offers the logical and splendid alternative to fine champagne. This is a relatively new style of beer which undergoes a similar process as champange, including the use of champagne yeast. Mon Dieu!

What should you expect? Taken from Bosteels site, a “light blonde to pale
golden beer, brightly scintillating, saturated and with extremely tiny
bubbles. DeuS is crowned by a fine linen white, meringue-like head.”

Ah, but what of the taste? Bosteels provides an alluring description, “DeuS is delicate and complex. It glides over the tongue as smoothly as
silk and then blossoms into a creamy, tingling sparkle. DeuS is light and
vivacious and seduces you with the sweetness of a grape and the fruitiness
of a dessert apple. The finish is beautifully dry with a bare hint of tannin.”

I’ve been sitting on a bottle of this for about a year, waiting for just the right time to unwind the wire cage and pop the cork on this exotic brew. I’ll be drinking this from a pilsner glass. Anyone else going to join me on 12/31/15?

Additionally, if you’re celebrating with a different beer, I’d love to know what you’ve picked out. Drop me a line, you just might invoke beer-envy in me.

I’ll be doing a review at about 12:02 am, 1/1/16, let’s see if I get the same qualities from the beer during my experience.

On the docket: 750ml bottle of Brasserie d’Achouffe’s McChouffe, bottle date: best before end of 2015. Seems like I’m cutting it close.

Poured into: Etched Chimay Goblet

S: An initial mass of beige-gray head, thick and puffy forms. Underneath, a dark, burnt-sienna body sits, with an orange tint at the base. Tiny bubbles snake up to the top. Eventually, the head dies down to a thin cap on top, bubbles populating the head, sort of like soap.

A: Fruity esters immediately wend their way into your nose, laddie. Ef ya couple that with some yeasty bubblegum and a bit of caramelized malt, you have the knack of it. The hops, while muted, are spicy and earthy. It’s entertaining to smell, the sweetness being a draw factor here.

T: Some of the aroma carries over into the taste. The fruit here is dark and plummy, but gentle. A spot of hay, or husk, sweet caramel, a definite melanoidin tang like that of a Scotch ale, and a bit of spice and earth from the hops.

F: Tingly carbonation, chewy mouthfeel, fluffy. Deceptively light bodied. A kiss of warming alcohol on the end, more pronounced as it warms up (at 8.0%, it’s certainly prudent to exercise a dram of caution. A finish that sticks around.

O: Though the brewery calls this beer a brown ale, and while they’re not exactly wrong, I feel that comes up short in describing this one. Picture the offspring of Gerard Butler and Ellen Petri (go ahead and look her up, I had to, too) in a beer, and this is much closer to the mark. There are equal parts Scotch ale and Belgian Strong Dark in here, and they combine to make something that while new, is evident of its parents. This is a pleasure to sip and meditate on; much like the upcoming celebration of our Lord’s birth.

S: A quickly rising, stark-white whip of head formed on the surface of a nearly Ticonderoga #2 pencil-colored body. The head will settle down, clinging to the top in a ¾ thumb-width. Tiny bubbles zip to the surface. There is a visible cloudiness in the body, but this treat was bottle conditioned, so that’s just fine by me.

A: Light, malty sweetness works in partnership with a dry, spicy note of clove. Gentle banana and bubblegum (and I mean really gentle) yeast esters also emanate from the head. A mild fruitiness (Allagash says passionfruit). Spicy, earthy hops probably feel overlooked, but I waved at them, made them feel appreciated.

T: Dry clove spice and an earthy, husky/straw flavor meet your senses immediately. One will also detect some sweetness from the malt and the candi sugar. There’s certainly a little fruitiness in the mouth, too. Peach? Apricot? Mango? I’ll chalk that up to the yeast. Honey wends its way into the flavor. The hops and the higher alcohols show up in the finish. It’s a slight warming tingle, but by no means unpleasant. Tripels are dangerous– light body, great flavor, and well-integrated alcohol. This one comes in at 9% abv. Take your time with this cork and cage beauty.

F: Light, fluffy, tingly, and like they said on the bottle, a long finish. A great sipper.

O: An excellent interpretation of a cherished Belgian style by an American brewery. High marks to Allagash. If you think this one is good, try their barrel-aged releases.

S: A rich, dark, barbecue sauce-like brown body sits underneath a beige head. I poured with enough force to create a nice, inch-plus head, but it settled down to just more than half a thumbnail. The body is so dark I cannot see the bubble activity from the base of my etched chalice.

A: Dark, fruity, almost bubble-gum like sweetness leads the pack, followed closely by grapey-port or sherry note. Spicy pepper and phenols trail behind, with hops in the rearview mirror.

T: Plum, an overall fruitiness, and a definite twang of umani. This brown-eyed girl has a bit of port in the palate. Like its (argued) diminutive sibling, the Rouge, the Blue also boasts fruit-cake qualities, and while bitter, gives wide berth to its sweetness. Climbing from a manageable 7% in the Rouge to cautionary 8% in the White, Blue boasts an abv just over 9%. You can tell, the warmth from the alcohol is certainly present, but by no means “hot” or solvent-like.

F: Dangerously light and fluffy feel courtesy of the carbonation. Moderately long finish of dryness, and tingle from the bubbles.

O: Regarded as Chimay’s crowning achievement. I understand why. Most people don’t even considering opening this masterpiece until it’s at least five years old. I don’t have that luxury yet, so I’ll settle (right… settle) for the fresh-off the line model. This is a libation for sitting and sipping, not shot-gunning in a contest. Enjoyable during cold weather in front of a roaring fire and a heavy, small-print hardcover novel.